Dowler-Schreyer House

The Queen Anne home was constructed in 1906 by Wheeling architect Joseph Leiner for Charles H. Dowler and his family. Dowler was a prominent figure in Warwood, having served as an owner of the Warwood Land Company, the second mayor of Warwood, city manager, and the second CEO for the First Bank of Warwood. The home features eighteen rooms, a four-story turret, interior oak detailing, a 500 square-foot wrap around veranda with two porches, forty-six windows, and a 1 ½-story carriage house. The maple tree and four sycamores were planted on the property in 1907 and protect the house from heat and cold. The retaining wall was built in 1928 when the city widened Warwood Avenue for two lane traffic. This is a private home and not open to the general public.

This house is located in Warwood, Wheeling's northern most neighborhood. Thomas Glenn is the first known owner of the land; he bequeathed the land to his son, William, sometime before 1795. Farmers initially settled in the region north of Wheeling for its rich, fertile soil.

Farmland in Warwood made way to industrial and residential development at the turn of the century; the neighborhood is named after Henry Warwood, who founded the Warwood Tool Company in 1854 in Martins Ferry, Ohio. The company was relocated to Warwood in 1907.

The area was originally divided into three sections: Loveland, which runs from the Centre Foundry to N. 6th St., Richland, which goes from N. 6th St. to N. 23rd St., and Glenova, which extends from N. 23rd St. to the Pike Island Lock and Dam.

Foreseeing the potential of Warwood’s future, R. J. McCullagh founded the Warwood Land Company in 1903. The company sold the lots at a very low price at the time, starting at $300 each. The land was far less susceptible to floods than other parts of Wheeling, and streetcars ran between Warwood and Wheeling every 15 minutes, which became excellent selling points for prospective residents. Working-class families who came to the area sought employment at the industrial plants and built their residences, businesses, and churches nearby. Coal mines were abundant in Warwood, and an oil boom hit Warwood in 1911.

Warwood became an incorporated community on May 26, 1911, with Dr. J.W. Abercrombie as the first mayor, and Charles H. Dowler as the second. As part of the “Wheeling Greater Movement”, Wheeling annexed the Warwood neighborhood in 1919,

1. Hinrichs Bissett, Mabel. Cupp Jones, Bertha. Warwood: a History, 1669-1975. Ernest St. C. Benfield, 1993. 
2. Interview with Jeff & Sandy Mauck, September 2016.
3. Rieth, Christina. "Warwood: a Walking Tour of its History and Architecture". Wheeling Heritage, 2017.